Monday, October 17, 2016

Tasting Notes for Avant Garde style Bière de Garde

This beer took inspiration from Lost Abbey's Avant Garde but
I added a bit of my own things into the brew as well. I've been trying
to nail some of the flavors that are often familiar with commercial
examples of Bière de Garde. I've said many times that I believe this
beer gets the signature musty cellar aromas from a hint of brettanomyces
and not just from long storage with a cork. I wanted to simulate those
characters in my beer. I may be way off but, in the same regard, I may
come out with something quite enjoyable. You can find the brew day
notes and recipe here.

Appearance: Dark amber in color with some golden hues. Pours slightly hazy but could have been a touch of chill haze. Head was white with tight bubbles but it immediately dissipated. No lacing at all but there is a good bit of carbonation visible. From time to time I see beers with brett not have much in the way of head retention. I'll work on that going forward in my Bière de Garde brewing.

Aroma: Malt up front with a hint of fruitiness. Nothing really stands out in the nose but as it warms there is definitely an earthy funk in there. Almost mushroom like when I think about it. Maybe a touch of grain and that's pretty much it.

Flavor: Just a touch more malt character in the flavor than in the aroma. That's what I'm looking for. The earthiness is also there. This is more of the yeast earthiness that I've gotten in WLP072 before. It may be a touch higher with the addition of the brett but not really pronounced. The beer does finish dry like I wanted it to.

Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel and a spring of carbonation as you drink. There is more carbonation than in the appearance since there is no head retention.

Overall:
I think my girlfriend said it best when describing this beer. She
said, "I mean, I'd drink it." It's somewhat of an uneventful beer but
it does have the makings of a good beer and actually did get a bit of
the earthiness I was looking to get out of it. Otherwise, it's not
really special but it definitely isn't bad. I think the lack of head retention really throws me off
too.

I think this beer is on
the right track. I'll swap to a different yeast next time to maybe get a bit more character. I think if there were some esters created by the primary yeast, the brettanomyces may have more to work with. I believe this strain of brett is well suited for the style so I'll be experimenting with it more. Maybe adding some oak to it for some time will bring up the complexity. I'm still very interested in
figuring out Bière de Garde and what all it entails.

*Sorry for the lack of photos on this one. But in all honesty, it wasn't a super interesting beer to photograph!

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An Interview with Yvan de Baets of Brasserie De La Senne

Excerpt from the Interview of Yvan de Baets by The Beer Temple YouTube Channel

“People think you have to use those very yeasts (farmhouse or saison) for making Saison or farmhouse ales, but that’s not true. Imagine you are a farmer in the 19th century and of course you will use your yeast because it is always better. And when you get an infection which goes really too far, you take the yeast of the neighbor which is a totally different yeast, etc. Then you have dozens and dozens of Saison yeasts in the past. Depending on the way you want to make your Saison, I consider you could make Saison with easily a hundred different yeasts. That’s not a problem.”

Savoring the Saison Panel from GABF

A description of Saison by Belgian brewer Yvan de Baets of Brasserie de la Senne

“A saison must therefore be low in alcohol (in the modern — and Belgian — sense of the word in any case), around 4.5 to 6.5%. It must be highly attenuated (90 to 95% on average, if not more, as apparent attenuation) and dry. It must also be either sour or very bitter (with a bitterness obtained by the use of a massive amount of hops low in alpha acid). It shouldn’t in any case be smooth. If spices are used, it must be with the utmost moderation. A saison is not by any means a spice soup. Ideally, it should be fermented, at least partially, by wild yeasts as well as by cultured varieties. An authentic saison has a small 'wild' side, rustic, indefinable, far from the clean aspect of certain engineered beers of today. In one word, it must have extraordinary character.”